Marc Dooley

Fulham Symphony Orchestra

Hannah Kendall’s ‘The Spark Catchers’ pays tribute to the women and girls employed at a match factory in London’s East End, who went on strike in 1888 protesting their hazardous working conditions. It is inspired by a poem by Lemn Sissay, commissioned for the London 2012 Olympics.

A selection of Debussy’s piano Préludes, reimagined for orchestra by Colin Matthews, evokes the Alhambra’s imposing Wine Gate, a mischievous water nymph, a portrait of ‘the girl with the flaxen hair’, and a legendary cathedral rising from the sea.

The concert concludes with Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, which spans extremes of emotion, from the darkness of its opening funeral march to an exuberant finale, with the famous Adagietto at its heart.

Mahler, Debussy and Kendall

Smith Square Hall

### Event Description: Mahler and Birtwistle Concert by Fulham Symphony Orchestra

**Date:** 25 March 2023  
**Time:** 7:30 PM  
**Venue:** St John’s Smith Square, Westminster, London SW1P 3HF

Join the Fulham Symphony Orchestra, a big and ambitious amateur orchestra in London, for an evening of profound musical exploration featuring works by Harrison Birtwistle and Gustav Mahler.

**Programme:**
- **Harrison Birtwistle:** *Night’s Black Bird*  
  Inspired by the Elizabethan composer John Dowland, Birtwistle’s *Night’s Black Bird* takes listeners on an intense, expressionistic journey through a shadowy world haunted by the calls of birds.

- **Gustav Mahler:** *Symphony No. 10* (performing version by Deryck Cooke)  
  Mahler’s beautiful and moving 10th Symphony remained unfinished at his death. Musicologist Deryck Cooke spent many years perfecting this performing version, which has become the most widely performed version of the composer’s final masterpiece.

**Performers:**
- **Conductor:** Marc Dooley
- **Leader:** Tom Evans

**Tickets:**
- General Admission: £14
- Concessions: £12
- Under-16s: £9
- Online transaction fee: £3

**Additional Information:**
- Illustration by Caroline Whitehead
- For ticket purchases and more details, visit the Fulham Symphony Orchestra's website.

Experience an evening of evocative and masterful music with the Fulham Symphony Orchestra at the historic St John’s Smith Square.